Chapter 7

Hotch rubbed bleary eyes and stared at his computer screen at his spreadsheet of contacts. He'd called every department he could think of and called in every favor he was owed, but they were still no closer to catching a glimpse of where Reid might be and who might have taken him. He and his team were working non-stop and what he wanted, more than anything else, was to go home and see his son and get some much-needed sleep. Jack was staying with Jessica for the time being and he knew JJ's husband was taking care of Henry, but he, J.J., and the rest of his team hadn't really left the BAU since Reid's disappearance. They would all catch sleep at their desks or on the sofas in his and Rossi's offices, or in a pinch, in one of the easy chairs, and meals were delivered to them. Showers happened in the locker rooms and if they got any exercise it happened while they were running around after one lead or another.

Rossi tapped on his door frame to alert him to his presence. "You look like hell."

"I feel as if I've been through it," Aaron confessed. "How's everyone doing?"

"Busy as caffeinated bees,when they're not falling asleep where they stand," Rossi sighed. "Me, included. How can someone just disappear like this and we have no leads?"

"I'm asking myself that question every moment," Hotch said. "I hate to think what Reid's going through."

"That's a sure way to make yourself crazy," Rossi cautioned him. "That's why I'm not letting myself think about it until I have to. I came by to tell you you have a visitor."

Certain that it was one of his contacts with an answer for him, Aaron surged to his feet. A moment later, Jack and Jessica walked into his office. "Jack." A smile started and then Aaron had his son in his arms. "Hey, buddy."

"Hi, Dad," Jack said, squeezing his ribs. "I missed you."

Aaron had to swallow hard. "I missed you, too. I'm sorry I've been so busy."

"Aunt Jess said it must be important."

"Very important," Hotch said, giving Jack another hug. "Otherwise, I'd be home with you planning that camping trip." Aaron looked up at his sister-in-law. "Thanks so much for bringing him in, Jessica."

She smiled. "Jack pretty much insisted, and I have to admit the kid had a point when he said you needed to see him. You look a thousand times better than you did a minute ago."

Hotch sighed. "It's been a long week."

Jessica raised an eyebrow and gave him a slight smile. "It's been more than a week now."

Hotch groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great. Now I'm losing track of time."

"Emily and Derek are both sleeping at their desks," Jack said, hopping up onto the couch to sit next to his dad. "Where's Uncle Spencer? Why isn't he here?"

Rossi and Hotch exchanged looks. Neither of them were sure if they should tell Jack or what his reaction would be to the news that Spencer was in trouble. The last thing he wanted was for his son to worry.

Jack went still. "Is something wrong? Something with Uncle Spencer?"

Hotch could see Rossi scrambling for something to say and Hotch just froze, his tired wits not responding.

"I knew it!" Jack said, pointing at his dad. "You'd have said something right away, otherwise. What happened?"

"There's only so much I can tell you," Hotch confessed, capitulating. "Spencer went home one evening and didn't come in to work the next morning, and we couldn't get hold of him. He's disappeared."

Jack folded his arms and fixed his father with a look. "I'm not a little kid, Dad. Not knowing what's happened is only going to make me more scared. Did he just disappear, or did someone take him?"

Hotch wondered just when his son had become so...was 'imperious' the correct word? "Someone took him."

"My God," Jessica breathed, taking a seat in the easy chair. "Any leads?"

"Very tenuous ones, and so far nothing concrete," Hotch said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We've all been working like crazy to find him, though."

Jack leaned over to hug his dad. "I know that, Dad. How do you think Uncle Spencer is holding up?"

Rossi chuckled. "Knowing Spencer, wherever he is, he'll be boring them all by talking about Star Trek and Doctor Who and who knows what else."

Jessica grinned. "Maybe he'll bore them so much that they'll send him home."

"Now that would be awesome," Aaron agreed, his grin matching Jessica's. "What do you think, Jack?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I think Uncle Spencer's so smart that he'll find a way to get a message to us. Then you'll be able to find him!"

"Ten to one, that's how it'll go down," Rossi said chummily.

Jessica gave Rossi a warm look and whispered something to Jack that Hotch didn't catch. Jack grinned and grabbed her hand. "Okay!"

Hotch looked from his son to Jessica and back again. "Why do I feel as if I've missed something?"

"Probably because you have," Jessica said, rising from her chair. "Jack and I are gonna go do something, but we'll be back later. Let's go, Jack. We don't have much time."

Jack hugged his dad goodbye and all but danced out of the office at Jessica's side. Hotch and Rossi watched them go, both of them confused. "Are they always like that?"

Hotch nodded. "At times like this, I can see in Jack a strong resemblance to his mother, and that makes me nervous. Whenever she and Hailey got together, something always happened. I'm sure we'll find out later."

Spencer biked up to the mailboxes and stopped, straddling the bike so he could open his box and examine the contents inside. There was the community newsletter, with its list of events and classes on offer and other announcements, and there was an envelope with his name on it in precise, calligraphic script. He opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, reading it where he stood.

Dear Dr. Reid,

I hope that your first week with us has been pleasant and diverting. I must say that I am pleased with the way you have settled in and have been taking advantage of the many activities we offer. I am looking forward to dinner with you tonight. It will be a formal meal; this evening at seven o'clock at my home. I am eager to see you and hear about your first week.

Until this evening,

The Director

"I'll bet," Reid murmured, tucking his mail away in his bag. He pedalled to the library, ported his bike, and headed inside before taking the stairs up to the second floor. He and Mara were supposed to meet in a study room and Spencer scooted inside, hoping… "Aw, dang it!"

Mara looked up from her notes and grinned. "Beat ya!"

Spencer closed the door so they wouldn't bother anyone with their talk and sat down. He and Mara had developed a game between them, of both of them racing each other to be first to their study sessions. "I was sure I was early! How do you get here so fast?"

She gave him a cheeky smile and batted her eyes. "Magic!"

"You and I are both Muggles, and I know you didn't Apparate," he said, placing his bag on the table and opening it. "Did you do your assignment?"

She nodded and pulled some sheets of paper out of her folder. "I understood all the examples and problems except the last two. Can we go over those?"

Reid scooted his chair next to hers. "Sure. Let's take a look."

While Reid drew examples for her and explained the concept at hand, he reflected on the past week and was amazed that he'd made it through. He'd done all the activities he could and still have time to sleep and eat, and he'd spent time tutoring Mara and playing chess with Claudius. Through it all, though, had been an undercurrent of unease. Sometimes he'd felt faintly nauseated and he'd felt a bit disconnected to what was going on around him, but mostly, he'd been relatively all right.

He had a better idea of how things worked on the campus, now. The staff were all well-paid, and he'd caught more than one of them watching him when they'd thought he wasn't looking. It made sense that the staff would also be the Director's spies, but whenever Reid spoke to one of them, they were always pleasant and friendly and even better, helpful. Rob in the dining hall was by far the nicest one, sneaking Reid an occasional cookie or cupcake when he desperately wanted something sweet. There was a cleaning service who kept the common areas of each cottage tidy and the kitchenettes stocked, and once a week a maid vacuumed and dusted their rooms, swapped their old linens and towels for clean ones and removed their dirty laundry. Everything was returned to them by the next afternoon, clean and pressed. There was a lot more staff for maintaining the grounds and buildings, and WBKJ headed up the security staff. The amount of staff that the Director employed was mind-boggling and Reid wondered just how that man managed to pay them all, let alone run the campus and afford a plane and import the luxury items in the exchange and cafe.

Reid had tried not to think about it too much. It was far too big and far too frightening for him to think about very long. Instead, he'd kept himself busy. He'd gone to his yoga class every day, despite still hating it. He was earning his childhood nickname of "Crash" all over again because he kept losing his balance or putting a foot wrong and falling. His classmates were treating it like a joke, thank goodness, but Reid was a bit tired of having to make a fool of himself on a daily basis. In Creative Crafting he'd finished his wooden wall art map and was deep in making a suncatcher for his window and a macrame hammock for his balcony. Working on two projects at once was challenging, but he was having fun. He'd kept up with Sean and the rest of his group and split his leisure time between Claudius and Mara, and in his baking class they'd finished cookies and quick breads and they'd begun pastries and cakes. There was a recipe he'd seen for a chocolate lava cake and he was keen to try it with Mara. The first time they'd made cupcakes he'd turned around to ask her something and found her happily licking a spoon clean of icing. The look on her face said plainly oh-rats-he-caught-me, but that hadn't stopped her from getting another spoonful almost right away.

He was usually exhausted at the end of the day, exhausted enough to want to crawl into bed right away and sleep, but instead he kept himself awake if he could, watching television in the common room or reading. He'd bought a small CD player at the campus exchange and sometimes he played music to keep his mind off things. All of it helped to keep him distracted, but as soon as he lay down in bed thoughts of home and his mom and his friends would flood his mind and he'd have a hard time falling asleep. Vague dreams haunted him while he was asleep and he often woke up still tired and feeling spooked. Occasionally he would fall asleep in the Green when he found a handy bench or hammock, but those times were few and far between.

He'd been a model prisoner ever since his first chess game with Claudius. He kept himself busy, he didn't make trouble, and he had never once made an attempt to escape. There were times when he thought that he must have been out of his mind to hunker down like he had, but he had to admit to himself that WBKJ or their minions didn't seem to watch him much, and the other staff didn't seem to watch him more than they watched anyone else. That was exactly what he wanted, but the temptation to stand in the middle of the Green and scream "I'M GETTING THE HECK OUT OF HERE AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" was overwhelming sometimes.

Whenever he felt as if he couldn't take anymore, something would happen to surprise him. One day for lunch he'd arrived at the dining hall to find a sign stating that lunch would be served on the Green that day. Perplexed, he'd gone to the Green and found an outdoor barbecue and picnic in full swing, complete with desserts and games. Every resident was there and that afternoon Reid had taken part in a game of horseshoes, a game of pass-the-bacon (he'd nearly fallen over his feet when it was his turn), cheered on a lacrosse game, and got whacked in the head by blocks of wood when he played a game of giant Jenga. Mara had talked him into a two-legged race and they'd both tripped over his feet, much to his chagrin. He'd had a hamburger, potato chips, baked beans, a cupcake, and later, to console himself for his and Mara's humiliating defeat, he'd had some snickerdoodle cookies and an ice cream cone with Mara. The rest of the day's classes had been canceled, so Reid had spent the whole day at the Green, playing games and hanging out with Mara and Sean and everyone else. The one person that Reid hadn't seen had been Claudius.

The next surprise had been something of an awful temptation. Wallace had stopped him on his way to the library to return some books and said that the Director had arranged a treat for him and a few other people who had been at the campus for less than a year. He and four other people had been taken down to the docks on the east beach for an afternoon cruise on a sailboat. A cold lunch and drinks and sweets had been provided and Reid had spent the entire afternoon actually enjoying himself, despite visions of mutiny arising in his head every few minutes. If he were to try to take over the boat and failed, then all his work at not being noticed would have been wasted. Instead of risking the temptation, he kept himself occupied by learning how to sail when one of the staff offered and learning how to do deep-sea fishing from a fellow resident. At one point they'd come across a pod of dolphins and Reid had practically fallen over the bow of the boat watching them and trying to hear the different clicks and squeals they made. He'd returned to his room before dinner with his hair wind-blown, his skin coated with sea spray, and his nose a bit sunburned, but he'd had fun.

Oh, he knew what the Director was doing, of course. There was no question that he was doing his best to show Reid all the advantages and fun things about the campus so he would let his guard down and accept being there. What really worried Reid was the nature of the projects the Director had people working on. They had to be lucrative, or else the Director wouldn't have the money to run the campus. That argued they were either illegal or black-market in nature, or at the least, ethically questionable. He knew that there were plenty of companies and nations that would pay any amount for things to be done and for problems to be solved, and they didn't always care how they were completed. He was resolved to keep his eyes and ears open and his mouth shut.

The rest of the day passed in a blur for him since he was so focused on getting through dinner that evening. Around six-thirty he biked back to Beech to change clothes, and then he biked to the Director's house, a place that still amused him by being "Invitation Only." He was greeted by Keller at the door and shown into the garden, where the Director was waiting for him. "Ah, Doctor Reid! It's good to see you again!"

Reid wanted to take this man down in a football-style tackle and start pummeling him, but instead he held his hand out to shake. "Hello."

The Director shook his hand before waving him to a chair and then took his seat across from him. "Tell me, how has your first week been?"

"It's been very busy," Reid admitted. "I still don't like the yoga class since I'm such a physical klutz, but the rest of it is...well, fun."

"I understand you've made some friends."

"Oh, yeah," Reid agreed as a waiter brought their meals. "Sean Gallagher and his group, and Mara, and Claudius."

The Director gave him a warm smile and quirked an eyebrow. "I see you've met some of my favorite people. What do you all spend your time doing?"

"Oh, lots of things," Reid said, glancing down at his plate. His mouth watered as his eyes took in a grilled steak with mushrooms, a garlic mashed potato sculpture, and roasted root vegetables. "I wasn't too hungry when I arrived, but now I'm starving."

"Well, tuck in, dear boy," the Director told him, placing his napkin in his lap. "While we eat, you can tell me all about your doings this past week."

In between bites Reid related what he and his new friends had been up to, and he was careful to mention the picnic and the cruise. He shared that he and Claudius met to play chess and that he was tutoring Mara in mathematics and that they were in a baking class together. He added that he met Sean and his friends each day for meals and that they often hung out when they were free.

"And your activities?" the Director prompted. "Are you enjoying them?"

"More than I thought I would," Reid admitted. "I like the Creative Crafting class and the baking class."

The Director nodded. "Good, good. I've been receiving reports of how you've been settling in, and I must admit that I am pleased. I don't think you've accepted being here yet since that always takes a while, but you've been keeping yourself busy and not making things difficult for anyone else, be they staff or resident. Due to this good behavior, I've been considering bending the rules in your case, since your circumstances are unique."

Reid quickly took a sip of water. "What do you mean, bending the rules?"

"I don't usually allow my residents to send messages to those left behind so they'll make a clean break between one phase of their lives and the next, but you were right that your mother depends on your letters. I took the liberty of checking on her and how she was doing, and you were right. I couldn't be so cruel as to deprive her of them entirely."

Reid stared at him, scarcely daring to believe it. "You're going to let me write to her?"

The Director held up a staying hand and nodded. "With conditions, yes."

Reid twisted his napkin in his lap. "What conditions?"

"You can't tell her what's really happened to you. Just tell her that you've been transferred to a new unit elsewhere. Since you'll only be writing once every other week, tell her that's how the mails run where you are, but that you will write to her. You can include as much information as you like, but you cannot tell her where you are."

Reid nodded, still twisting the napkin. "I haven't worked out where we are yet."

The Director chuckled. "I see. Well, thank goodness. You're a geographic profiler, aren't you?"

Reid sighed and dug into his mashed potatoes. "The irony has not been lost on me. What do I do once I've written a letter?"

"You leave it in your mailbox, and I'll see to it that it's sent to her. Since I have someone leaving tonight to do some errands for me, you could write your first letter to her once we've finished eating so it can go with him. How does that sound?"

Reid was ready to inhale his food, but he restrained himself. "That sounds wonderful." He could only imagine his mom's relief when she got a letter from him. He knew for certain he would sleep better that night when he went to bed if he sent a letter.

The Director turned the talk to other topics after that, encouraging Reid to ask questions about anything he didn't understand or wanted to know more about. Reid asked about what certain events were like and if it were required he go to them.

"Why not?" the Director queried him, sounding genuinely curious.

"Well, I don't like beaches too much, so Surf and Sun Day causes me a bit of concern."

The Director threw his head back and laughed outright, his voice ringing off the walls of the garden. "Causes you some concern! Oh, my!"

Reid waited until he stopped laughing. "Well, is there a way?"

"Let me think about it; it's not for a while," the Director told him, still chuckling.

Reid did ask about the projects that he could expect to work on when it was time, but the Director wagged a finger at him. "Don't try to run before you walk, Dr. Reid. There will be plenty of time for that later."

It was an answer without answering a single question he had, and it was infuriating, but he smiled and nodded and returned his attention to his food. Dessert was a Fraisier genoise cake that melted on the tongue and caused Reid to draw a deep, heartfelt sigh of pure bliss after the first bite. In every bite he could taste strawberry, creme patissiere, and sweet, syrup-brushed cake that was as light as air. All he could do was breathe a reverent, "Wow…"

"Good, isn't it?" the Director commiserated. "It's my favorite of the kitchen's cakes."

Reid leaned back in his chair and gave a beatific smile. "I can see why. Nations could be brought to their knees by this cake."

As soon as dessert was finished, the Director led Reid inside to his office. There, he set out paper, an envelope, and a pen, and invited Reid to write as much as he liked. After taking a moment to compose his thoughts, Reid picked up the pen and started writing. He wrote without a break for close to twenty minutes, only stopping to work out hand cramps. Finally, he looked his letter over, folded up the pages, and slipped them into the envelope before writing his mother's name and address on the back of the envelope. "When do you think she'll get it?"

"Most likely sometime tomorrow or the next day," the Director said. "I can promise you that she'll receive it, Dr. Reid. I hate to bring a pleasant evening to an end but it is getting rather late, and I know you're up early in the mornings."

The Director walked him to the door and bid him a good night and Reid thanked him for a pleasant evening and for allowing him to write his mother. He biked back to Beech and walked into the middle of a pillow fight in the common room, with Mara leading the charge. "REID!" she yelled, spotting him. "Grab a pillow! We need all the men we can get!"

Reid picked up a piece of ammunition and dove into battle, ready to leave his cares on the side for a while.

Jessica and Jack brought them lunch. Even better, none of it was carry-out or pizza. They'd gone home, cooked a massive meal, and carted it all into the office for them. When Hotch saw what his son and sister-in-law had pulled off, he had to hug each of them. "Thank you. I feel like I've come back to life."

"You guys looked like you needed a little TLC," Jessica said, returning the hug.

J.J.'s phone rang and she set down her plate of spaghetti and meatballs to answer it. "Agent Jareau."

Everyone froze, even Derek, who was in the middle of slurping a noodle into his mouth. The end of the spaghetti hung from the right side of his face, forgotten.

"Yes, thank you," J.J. said. "Yes, I'll let my team know right away. Someone will be there soon." She hung up and faced the rest of her team. "Diana Reid just got a letter from Spence."

A meatball flew toward the ceiling as everyone started celebrating.

A/N: Plot Rabbit-zilla must be appeased. I suddenly have no life anymore.